March 2021 Board of Health Meeting

Meeting held via video.

SUBMITTED BY

Communications Department

DATE

March 18, 2021

SUBJECT

January 2021 - Communications Update

January Metrics

Media Monitoring Highlights

Media Participating in Teleconference for YouTube Live

• AM 800 CKLW, Blackburn News, CBC Windsor, CTV Windsor and The Windsor Star join every day. On occasion, Radio Canada will also join the briefing.

Current Notable Projects

• Developing a marketing and communications campaign for the vaccine rollout as the region moves through each phase of the provincial COVID-19 vaccine rollout plan.
• Website updates will be coming with more information on the COVID-19 vaccines and the Windsor and Essex County moving to the Red-Control level of the provincial framework.
• We continue to make improvements to our daily COVID-19 public health updates for the community.

Data Notes:

Most requests are related to the local COVID-19 pandemic.

1. Media requests received is a compiled list of documented requests we captured for interviews, data clarification, or general request for information from the media. Given the volume of requests during COVID-19, many exchanges with the media through text messages or quick phone calls to correct errors may not be captured. In many instances, each request led to multiple interactions with reporters.

2. Dr. Ahmed joined Mike and Lisa on the AM 800 Morning Drive every morning at 8:06 a.m. starting on Wednesday, March 17. On August 17, we went to a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday schedule with holidays off. He continues to do join Mike and Lisa every other morning to keep the community informed.

3. We changed the platform we broadcasted live videos from Facebook to YouTube at the end of June. YouTube Live videos started on June 23, 2020. Prior Public Health Update videos on YouTube were exported videos recorded through Facebook Live.

4. Website analytics are provided by Siteimprove. The metric provided is for page views to COVID-19 Local Updates Page. During the COVID-19 pandemic, changes were made to landing pages. For consistency in reporting, the most popular page was selected.

6. Email subscribers are those individuals who signed up to receive promotional emails from the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit. The analytics are provided through Mailchimp.

7. Social media metrics are provided through Hootsuite.

8. Graphs and media exposure information in this report were generated using Meltwater Media Monitoring Solution. Significant changes in numbers can be partially attributed to configuration changes made to the new service to better monitor and report media activity. News stories may be duplicates or missing as the platform is currently being optimized to better track Windsor-Essex County Health Unit mentions in the media landscape.

SUBMITTED BY

Communications Department

DATE

March 18, 2021

SUBJECT

February 2021 - Communications Update

February Metrics

Media Monitoring Highlights

Trending Themes

Top Sources

Media Participating in Teleconference for YouTube Live

• AM 800 CKLW, Blackburn News, CBC Windsor, CTV Windsor and The Windsor Star join every day.

Current Notable Projects

• Developing weekly communication plans for ongoing vaccine rollout in the region.
• We continue to make improvements to our daily COVID-19 public health updates for the community.

• Regular communication with the Ministry of Health about provincial initiatives and their planned launch dates.

Data Notes:

Most requests are related to the local COVID-19 pandemic.

1. Media requests received is a compiled list of documented requests we captured for interviews, data clarification, or general request for information from the media. Given the volume of requests during COVID-19, many exchanges with the media through text messages or quick phone calls to correct errors may not be captured. In many instances, each request led to multiple interactions with reporters.

2. Dr. Ahmed joined Mike and Lisa on the AM 800 Morning Drive every morning at 8:06 a.m. starting on Wednesday, March 17. On August 17, we went to a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday schedule with holidays off. He continues to do join Mike and Lisa every other morning to keep the community informed.

3. We changed the platform we broadcasted live videos from Facebook to YouTube at the end of June. YouTube Live videos started on June 23, 2020. Prior Public Health Update videos on YouTube were exported videos recorded through Facebook Live.

4. Website analytics are provided by Siteimprove. The metric provided is for page views to COVID-19 Local Updates Page. During the COVID-19 pandemic, changes were made to landing pages. For consistency in reporting, the most popular page was selected.

6. Email subscribers are those individuals who signed up to receive promotional emails from the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit over the last 30 days. The analytics are provided through Mailchimp.

7. Social media metrics are provided through Hootsuite.

8. Graphs and media exposure information in this report were generated using Meltwater Media Monitoring Solution. Significant changes in numbers can be partially attributed to configuration changes made to the new service to better monitor and report media activity. News stories may be duplicates or missing as the platform is currently being optimized to better track Windsor-Essex County Health Unit mentions in the media landscape.

SUBMITTED BY

Nicole Dupuis, Director of Health Promotion

DATE

March 18, 2021

SUBJECT

Ontario Active School Travel Fund Awarded to Windsor-Essex County 

BACKGROUND

Active school transportation (AST) plays an important role in helping to increase students’ activity levels and associated improvements in mental and physical health. Common modes of active school transportation include walking, cycling, skateboarding, or scootering to and from school. Using active transportation for school travel can add two bouts of physical activity to a student’s day, helping them accumulate the recommended 60 minutes of activity daily from the Canadian 24 hour movement guidelines. Additionally, when more families use active transportation, there are fewer vehicles accessing the school zone leading to improvements in safety and air quality in the school community. 

In October 2020, Green Communities Canada (GCC) a leading organization promoting active school travel, invited communities in Ontario to apply for their third round of grants under the Ontario Active School Travel Fund (OAST).  The OAST fund was created in 2018 to support active travel initiatives in selected communities across the province and has previously supported the following regions with grants under the previous two funding cycles:

• Ajax
• Hamilton
• Sarnia
• Ottawa
• Niagara
• London
• Toronto
• Stratford

Funded prrojects are expected to have a significant and lasting impact in their communities by establishing a foundation for continuing growth in the area of active school travel. Between 2018-2020, Green Communities Canada awarded $2.1 million from the OAST Fund, supporting a number of projects across the province.  Previous applications for In Windsor and Essex County, led by community groups and organizations have been unsuccessful in securing funding in previous rounds. In response to the call for applications for the third round of funding, the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) worked with key community partners to develop and submit an application for the OAST Fund in November 2020. As the lead applicant and coordinating organization, the WECHU submitted the grant on behalf of the partnership which involved the following organizations and community groups:

• The Greater Essex County School Board
• Windsor Essex Student Transportation Services
• The City of Windsor
• Windsor Police Services
• Bike Windsor Essex
• County of Essex – County Wide Active Transportation System (CWATS) program

In December 2020, the WECHU was notified by the OAST fund that the application was successful and would be receiving funding in the amount of $60,000 to be used toward active transportation initiatives for schools throughout Windsor-Essex County during 2021 into early 2022. 

CURRENT INITIATIVES:

The WECHU is in the initial stages of planning and establishing a Transfer Payment Agreement with Green Communities Canada. Upon finalizing the transfer of funding partners will reconvene to discuss project timelines, assign roles and select pilot sites. The committee’s work will focus on policy development and collaboration with pilot schools to implement interventions and assess their impact, with the ultimate goal of establishing sustainable policy and facilitating a more supportive environent for active school travel across the region. Specific projects associated with the grant application for which the funding will be utilized are described below:

• Hiring and training of a Active Travel Planner to assist schools and boards in implementing plans and coordinate community education and outreach.
• Establishing pilot school sites and create working groups to engage school community in planning of school-focused interventions.
• Conducting walkability and safe route checks at each pilot school led by Windsor Police Services.
• Conducting a scan of built environment and other policy initiatives related to each school community and determine existing resources.
• Implementing safe active school travel training sessions with students through CAN Bike Safety and Education sessions led by Bike Windsor Essex.
• Hosting AT community education events to highlight safe routes surrounding each pilot school and creative initiatives to engage students in active school travel.

Conducting baseline and post-intervention evaluation to determine intervention effectiveness in pilot schools and opportunities to scale up for board-wide implementation.

SUBMITTED BY

Marc Frey, Manager, Planning and Strategic Initiatives Department

DATE

March 18, 2021

SUBJECT

Risk Management

BACKGROUND

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) maintains a corporate risk registry. The Ministry of Health (MOH) requires yearly reporting on the ten (maximum) highest residual risks to the organization and the related operations. Residual risks are defined as the assessed risk level after consideration of associated mitigation strategies. The MOH requires the use of a specific template and consistent language to harmonize efforts in tracking risks across the province.

CURRENT INITIATIVES:

The WECHU enterprise risk registry monitors 29 risks across 14 risk categories. Based on the categorization and reporting requirements by the MOH, 8 of these risks were identified as being high residual risks. The high risks reported to the MOH are related to: funding, health system transformation, disasters/hazards, planning information and evaluation, work stoppage, privacy breaches, and local health disparities.

Each identified high risk includes documentation of current and future mitigation approaches. Some of the mitigation approaches are anticipated to be delayed due to the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The WECHU enterprise risk registry will be updated in the current year, based on the reported risk information to the MOH, with adjustments to the current status of risks and mitigation strategies.

RISK REPORTING

1: Funding

Description

CAUSE: Funding uncertainties.

EVENT: Hampered financial planning, monitoring, and decision making processes. Recent exogenesis factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the municipal cost-sharing changes have exacerbated funding uncertainties.

CONSEQUENCES:

1. Inability to satisfy the WECHU's objectives (Strategic and Operational)
2. Inability to meet the requirements of the Ontario Public Health Standards
3. Cost reduction measures (i.e. headcount reductions; prioritization of expenditures) and resulting impact on staff morale
4. If late approval or approval in excess of budget, lost opportunities if the WECHU is unable to act on plans
5. Organization’s reputation is at risk

• CATEGORY: Financial
• IMPACT: 4
• LIKELIHOOD: 5
• OVERALL RATING: 20 - High

Key Risk Mitigations

CONTROL STRATEGY:

1. Quarterly variance analysis comparing budget to actual financial results reviewed by Leadership Team and Board of Health (BOH) with forecast (Q3 and or Q4 only).
2. Responsible budget process that balances finite resources with program/departmental priorities
3. Identification of priorities (i.e. contract positions, operating expenditures) to be strategic with budget/planning reallocation when positive budget variances are realized
4. Forecasting of expenditures on a quarterly basis

ACTION REQUIRED:

1. Evaluation of budget (process and quality)

2: Health System Transformation

Description

CAUSE: Ministry mandated public health system changes.

EVENT: The WECHU may be at risk of significant disruptions and high opportunity costs related to health system transformation including the possibility of regionalization.

CONSEQUENCES:

1. Inability to meet the requirements of the Ontario Public Health Standards
2. Hampered ability to effectively respond to COVID-19 requirements/expectations
3. Confusion of purpose
4. Confusion within partnerships and working relationships
5. The organization’s reputation is at risk

• CATEGORY: Governance / Organizational
• IMPACT: 5
• LIKELIHOOD: 4
• OVERALL RATING: 20 - High

Key Risk Mitigations

CONTROL STRATEGY:

1. Working with regional leadership groups to identify local priorities
2. Engaging with regional leadership groups to establish working relationships for priority areas

ACTION REQUIRED:

1. Monitoring public health modernization developments
2. Engagement in public health modernization efforts
3. Change management planning based on public health modernization information

3: Disasters/Hazards

Description

CAUSE: Epidemiological, natural, and anthropogenic disasters or hazards. This current risk assessment incorporates consideration of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as well as other potential disasters/hazards.

EVENT: The WECHU may be at risk of disrupted service delivery, modified program/service priorities, and/or novel requirements due to a disaster/hazard occurrence.

CONSEQUENCES:
1. Inability to meet the requirements of the Ontario Public Health Standards
2. Inability to satisfy the WECHU's objectives (strategic and operational)
3. Increased capital and human resource requirements, beyond budgeted allocations
4. Capacity constraints based on current assets and required actions
5. The organization’s reputation is at risk

• CATEGORY: Environment
• IMPACT: 5
• LIKELIHOOD: 4
• OVERALL RATING: 20 - High

Key Risk Mitigations

CONTROL STRATEGY:

1. The WECHU works closely with community partners and the Ministry of Health (Emergency Management Branch) for any emergency notification and response
2. A Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP), a Hazard Identification Risk Assessment (HIRA), and an Emergency Response Plan (ERP) have been developed
3. N-95 Respiratory fit-testing occurs on regular intervals

ACTION REQUIRED:

1. Long-term COVID-19 response plan development
2. Increased resource allocation to address protracted COVID-19 response
3. Forecasting for resource expectations for future disaster/hazard scenarios

4: Planning Information and Evaluation

Description

CAUSE: Capacity constraints and/or inability to access/collect information/data resources to inform program planning/operations.

EVENT: The inability to collect local data/information resources due to competing priorities (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic response) and the inability to access federal data resources (e.g., CCHS dataset access) affect organizational capacity to make evidence-based regarding program and service plans. Decreased capacity to plan and evaluate program/service operations to inform decision-making.

CONSEQUENCES:

1. Programs and services that do not align with the needs of the community
2. Inability to meet the requirements of the Ontario Public Health Standards
3. Inability to address local emerging public health concerns (e.g., secondary impacts of COVID-19 on local health outcomes)
4. Increased health disparity/inequity in Windsor-Essex health outcomes
5. The organization’s reputation is at risk

• CATEGORY: Information/Knowledge
• IMPACT: 4
• LIKELIHOOD: 5
• OVERALL RATING: 20 - High

Key Risk Mitigations

CONTROL STRATEGY:

1. Annual Service Plan development and submission to the Ministry of Health
2. Program review based on COVID-19 requirements/expectations in 2021
3. Existing data resources (e.g., the Windsor-Essex County Health Unity Community Needs Assessment 2019 Update)

ACTION REQUIRED:

1. Development of standard program effectiveness measures to ensure fidelity of implementation with program plans/operations
2. Program review and prioritization of interventions/services during the COVID-19 pandemic
3. Ongoing collection and review of program effectiveness data to adjust program/service delivery based on community needs

5: Work Stoppage

Description

CAUSE: The WECHU and internal labour groups are unable to reach collective bargaining agreements.

EVENT: An extended work stoppage involving internal labour groups.

CONSEQUENCES:

1. Service delivery to residents of Windsor-Essex County is negatively impacted
2. Delivery of goods and services is impeded
3. The organization’s reputation is at risk

• CATEGORY: People/Human resources
• IMPACT: 4
• LIKELIHOOD: 3
• OVERALL RATING: 12 - High

Key Risk Mitigations

CONTROL STRATEGY:

1. Routine review of contingency plans to align with the expiration of labour agreements
2. Routine review of plans with external stakeholders for outside services (e.g., deliveries)
3. Established plans for work stoppage response (e.g., communication with WECHU staff, communication with vendors, and arrangements for service requirements)

ACTION REQUIRED:

1. Review and update existing contingency plans
2. Review and update work stoppage response plans

6: Strategic Priorities

Description

CAUSE: External pressures and resource uncertainty.

EVENT: The WECHU may be at risk of not accomplishing its strategic priorities.

CONSEQUENCES:

1. The organization’s reputation is at risk
2. Service delivery to residents of Windsor - Essex County is negatively impacted
3. Inability to meet the requirements of the Ontario Public Health Standards (2018)

• CATEGORY: Strategic/Policy
• IMPACT: 3
• LIKELIHOOD: 5
• OVERALL RATING: 15 - High

Key Risk Mitigations

CONTROL STRATEGY:

1. Implementation of 2017-2021 Strategic Plan and quarterly progress reporting (NB. These actions have been deferred throughout the COVID-19 pandemic)
2. Completion and reporting on the Annual Service Plan (NB. Some of these actions have been deferred throughout the COVID-19 pandemic)
3. Monitoring and review of changes to legislation, protocols, and guidelines
4. Annual review and update of key policies and procedures

ACTION REQUIRED:

1. Annual review of strategic plan and implementation of its objectives
2. Prioritization of strategic plan efforts based on organizational capacity
3. Review the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on strategic priorities and directions

7: Privacy Breach

Description

CAUSE: Lack of knowledge, experience, and accountability related to personal information or personal health information of clients.

EVENT: Inappropriate collection, use, or disclosure of personal information or personal health information.

CONSEQUENCES:

1. Risk of litigation and related financial consequences
2. The organization’s representation is at risk
3. Non-compliance with data sharing agreements

• CATEGORY: Privacy
• IMPACT: 4
• LIKELIHOOD: 4
• OVERALL RATING: 16 - High

Key Risk Mitigations

CONTROL STRATEGY:

1. Established protocols for some databases that hold personal health information
2. Privacy policies and procedures
3. Annually required privacy training
4. Privacy Impact Assessment process and documentation
5. Annual reporting to the Information Privacy Commission

ACTION REQUIRED:

1. Privacy audits (NB. These actions have been deferred due to COVID-19 pandemic response)
2. Training/standard operating procedures for newly implemented systems that hold personal health information
3. Expand auditing procedures to new electronic systems

8: Local Health Disparities

Description

CAUSE: A decreased emphasis on local priority populations in program/service delivery due to operational pressures, capacity, and prioritization because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

EVENT: The WECHU may be at risk that its programs and services do not address the health disparities amongst local priority populations.

CONSEQUENCES:

1. Inability to meet the requirements of the Ontario Public Health Standards
2. Increased health disparity among local priority populations
3. Increased burden of illness and poorer local health outcomes
4. Decreased credibility/influence with local priority population groups
5. The organization’s reputation is at risk

• CATEGORY: Equity
• IMPACT: 4
• LIKELIHOOD: 4
• OVERALL RATING: 16 - High

Key Risk Mitigations

CONTROL STRATEGY:

1. Past corporate training/capacity building related to social determinants of health
2. Health Equity Impact Assessment process for programs and services
3. Annual Service Plan/operational planning includes identification of local priority populations

ACTION REQUIRED:

1. Identification of health inequities/disparate health outcomes for local priority populations
2. Language service provision plans/implementation to serve community language needs
3. Development of standard priority population engagement approaches
4. Development of indicators of success related to interventions targeting local priority populations
5. Local planning for priority populations due to a protracted COVID-19 response

9: Program/Service Implementation

Description

CAUSE: Some programs/services may not occur as anticipated due to operational pressures, capacity, and prioritization of the COVID-19 pandemic response.

EVENT: The WECHU may be at risk that its programs and services do not occur as anticipated based on operational plans and the requirements specified in the Ontario Public Health Standards.

CONSEQUENCES:

1. Inability to meet the requirements of the Ontario Public Health Standards
2. Decreased effectiveness of long-term interventions on local health outcomes
3. Increased burden of illness and poorer local health outcomes
4. Potential damage to partner relationships related to program/service delivery
5. Potential opportunity cost related to lack of intervention during periods of time where individuals are seeking public health support (i.e., due to reallocation of resources to support the COVID-19 pandemic response)
6. The organization’s reputation is at risk

• CATEGORY: Operational/Service Delivery
• IMPACT: 4
• LIKELIHOOD: 4
• OVERALL RATING: 16 - High

Key Risk Mitigations

CONTROL STRATEGY:

1. Annual Service Plan development and submission to the Ministry of Health
2. Program review based on COVID-19 requirements/expectations in 2021
3. Identification of program/service implementation based on priority areas/legal requirements
4. Monthly engagement with the Board of Health regarding service expectations during the COVID-19 pandemic

ACTION REQUIRED:

1. Development of standard program effectiveness measures to ensure fidelity of implementation with program plans/operations
2. Program review and prioritization of interventions/services during the COVID-19 pandemic
3. Ongoing collection and review of program effectiveness data to adjust program/service delivery based on community needs

MOH Risk Category:

• Compliance Legal
• Environment
• Equity
• Financial
• Governance / Organizational
• Information / Knowledge
• Operational / Service Delivery
• People / Human resources
• Political
• Privacy
• Security
• Stakeholder / Public Perception
• Strategic / Policy
• Technology

Board Members Present:

Gary McNamara, Tracey Bailey, Joe Bachetti, Rino Bortolin, Fabio Costante, Judy Lund, Gary Kaschak, Ed Sleiman, Larry Snively

Administration Present:

Theresa Marentette, Dr. Alexa Caturay (AMOH, Toronto Public Health), Lorie Gregg, Nicole Dupuis, Dr. Felicia Lawal, Kristy McBeth, Dan Sibley, Lee Anne Damphouse

Administration Regrets:

Dr. Wajid Ahmed

QUORUM:  Confirmed

RECORDING SECRETARY:

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